Silverpop extends its social reach with the acquisition of PlacePunch

E-mail and marketing services firm Silverpop Systems Inc. said today it had bought PlacePunch, a marketing agency that runs location-based campaigns across social sharing sites such as Foursquare, Facebook and Twitter. Silverpop did not say how much it paid for the firm, though it did say the acquisition will enhance its social marketing capabilities.

Silverpop says PlacePunch helps clients, including retailers, reach consumers after check-ins at businesses with marketing messages delivered to mobile devices. The campaigns can include messages related to contests and localized offers.

“Our acquisition of PlacePunch provides a remarkably powerful opportunity for our customers to market to people who have clearly indicated an interest in their company and a desire to purchase its products or services,” says Bill Nussey, president and CEO of Silverpop.

Earlier this year, Silverpop added some tools that let marketers create location-based marketing programs in Foursquare, a social network that consumers use to “check-in” via their mobile phones at various locations and then share that information with members of their social networks.

PlacePunch launched its marketing platform little more than a year ago. The firm’s two co-founders will join Silverpop. Adam Steinberg becomes Silverpop’s segment marketing director for social media, and Chris Glace will be Silverpop’s product innovation architect.